Law of the land

Friday 16th March 2007

Law of the land

The streets of Islamabad are very quiet for a Friday night. The
shoppers, eaters and those simply enjoying the start of the weekend are
not even half the normal crowd. It all seems to be the result of
today's events.

Protesters were out in full swing and this time it was more than the
usual Mullas angry about some insignificant event somewhere far away.
This time, the cause was much closer to home and everyone who had a
quarrel with the government, including the Mullas, exploited it to the
fullest.

It has been about a week since the President suspended the Chief
Justice and today was his second appearance before a tribunal to face
the charges brought against him. Maybe the CJ did misuse his powers and
maybe he didn't. But the way things were done has really put the
government in the firing line and it appears that this time, the result
will not be a very good one for it.

To make matters worse, security forces were shown breaking into the
offices of Geo TV, the country's top private
news channel. It is rumoured that the forces were trying to rescue one
of their comrades who had been taken inside and beaten by protesters,
but it isn't what the witnesses and the video clip say and Geo is using
this to show what freedom of the press really is in this country.

The whole thing may have been overblown, but it just goes to show how
badly the present government is handling the situation. Though the
President has said that he will accept the decision of the Supreme Court,
it is unlikely any of his critics will and things may deteriorate even
further.